


Heart and Soul

by zach_stone



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Piano, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:16:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18905584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zach_stone/pseuds/zach_stone
Summary: A quiet day in the lab is interrupted when Newt coerces Hermann into playing piano with him.My contribution to The Last Line of Defense Zine (spring 2019)!





	Heart and Soul

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so thrilled to be able to share my fic from the newmann anthology!! i wrote it way back in november, so it's fun to look back on it now. it was such a delight and honor to be included in this zine with so many talented creators. pick up a digital copy [here](https://gumroad.com/newmannzine)!

It was a rare day that the Hong Kong Shatterdome’s lab was quiet, but today was a blessed exception. Even now, it wasn’t completely silent — the irregular _tap-scritch_ of Hermann’s chalk on the chalkboard mingled with Newt’s occasional muttering. It was almost peaceful, Hermann thought, a welcome change from the usual chaos that came with working on the precipice of the end of the world. He climbed a few rungs higher on his ladder and started a new line of equations.

“Okay, I gotta take a break before I lose it,” Newt exclaimed suddenly. Hermann glanced over his shoulder in time to see Newt yanking off his rubber gloves and tossing them into the biohazard bin, clicking off his headlamp and flinging his arms over his head. “You wanna go get a snack or something?”

Hermann shook his head, turning back to his writing. “No, thank you.”

“Alright, suit yourself. Don’t stay on that ladder forever, bud.”

Hermann huffed out a laugh and waited for the sound of Newt bounding out of the lab in the direction of the mess hall. Instead, he heard a few soft notes from a piano. Hermann turned again to see Newt standing in the midst of the haphazard collection of instruments, his fingers resting on the keys of his little electric keyboard.

Newt caught his gaze and smiled guiltily. “D’you mind?”

There was a time when Hermann would have minded a great deal, would have shouted about professionalism in the workplace, and Newt would have retaliated by banging out the loudest, most disruptive song he could think of. Now, Hermann found that for some reason he didn’t mind so much.

Well, not just _some_ reason. He’d become far more lenient ever since he and Newt had started fooling around some months prior. Much of their relationship was the same as it had been since they began working together — bickering constantly, codependently attached at the hip — with the addition of covert snogging sessions in their bunks. It was… nice, and if he thought about it too deeply it made Hermann’s chest twist in a funny way that he had yet to confront.

At the very least, Newt was on the same page. Their current approach was to avoid the “what are we” conversation for as long as possible. As they were both stubborn to a fault, Hermann thought it was likely they’d avoid it indefinitely.

He’d been taking so long to answer Newt’s question that Newt, with a roll of his eyes, started to play again anyway. The song was gentler than his usual pop-punk key-slamming, so Hermann just tilted his head in assent and returned to his work. He was glad Newt couldn’t see just how fondly he was smiling.

“Hey,” Newt said after a moment, fingers stilling on the keys. “Don’t you play piano? I feel like you mentioned that in one of your letters.”

Hermann stiffened. Their rather enthusiastic years of correspondence were firmly on the Do Not Discuss list, because _that_ conversation was dangerously close to the “what are we” conversation. Newt was usually just as eager to ignore their past as Hermann, but clearly not today.

“I did as a child, yes,” Hermann said delicately. “It’s been years since I played. I doubt I remember any of it now.”

Newt made a _pfft_ sound, and Hermann whipped around to frown at him. “It’s just like riding a bike,” Newt said. “I bet if you got your hands on the keys again you’d remember.” He beckoned to Hermann and played a silly little tune with his other hand, clearly meant to be enticing. “C’mon, give it a try. It’s about time you took a break, anyway. You’re gonna fall off that thing one day, you stay up there way too long.”

Hermann rolled his eyes. “I know my limits, _thank you_ , Newton.” Nevertheless, he eased himself down the ladder and scooped up his cane so he could stand beside Newt at the keyboard. Newt grinned at him, and Hermann placed a hesitant hand on the keys. “I don’t even know where to begin,” he said.

“Hmm.” Newt looked thoughtful. Then, his face lit up. “Okay, this is perfect, everyone knows this one.” He started playing a simple, rhythmic tune, and Hermann recognized it as the left hand part for “Heart and Soul.” As a matter of fact, he _did_ remember learning it. He watched Newt’s sure, steady fingers move over the keys, and felt that twist in his chest again. “Think you could manage that?” Newt asked.

Hermann tried to clear his mind, and nodded. “Ah, yes, I believe I remember that one.”

“Nice! Here, sit down,” Newt said, using his foot to drag the small piano bench out from under the keyboard. “I’ll take the melody, you play the bass part.” Catching the look on Hermann’s face, he added, “That means you do what I just did, and I’ll play the other bit.”

“Oh,” Hermann said, taking a seat. “Um, alright then.” He settled his hands on the keys and started to play, slow and hesitant at first, but picking up speed after a moment or two. He kept his eyes firmly on his own hands to ensure he wouldn’t make a mistake, but watched out of the corner of his eye as Newt’s fingers nimbly started to play beside his own. Newt was improvising a little, making the melody his own as he played, and the keyboard was small enough that occasionally their fingers brushed or bumped against each other.

Newt laughed softly. Hermann chanced a glance at him, and the expression on his face made Hermann’s breath catch. Newt wasn’t looking at Hermann, he was looking at their hands together, and his smile was achingly wistful. Hermann nearly stumbled and returned his gaze to the keys. After a moment, Newt started to sing under his breath, muttering the words to the song as they played. The lyrics felt all too relevant, and Hermann did fumble this time, his fingers skipping over the keys and momentarily sliding on top of Newt’s.

“Sorry,” he said, embarrassed. Newt stopped playing, too, and caught Hermann’s hand before he could pull away. Hermann looked at him; he was standing there with his hair a mess, the headlamp shoved up on his forehead, and he still wore that same wistful smile. “Newton…?”

“Okay, so I know talking about this breaks some kind of unspoken agreement about our emotional constipation,” Newt said, his words tripping over each other on the way out, “but I’m not exactly being subtle right now, so I hope you’re picking up on that.”

Hermann felt very warm. His heart was pounding. “I’m not sure I am.”

“ _Hermann_ ,” Newt said, his mouth twisting into an exasperated grin. “If I wanted you to try playing something easy, I could’ve suggested ‘Chopsticks.’” He squeezed Hermann’s hand gently, his fingers warm and soft. “Get it yet?”

“I was already aware that you’re fond of me,” Hermann said. “You know I feel the same.”

“I’m falling in love with you,” Newt blurted out. “Heart and soul, the whole bit. And I don’t want to _not_ talk about how we feel anymore, because I know our hookups have never been meaningless, but I want — I want you to know exactly what they _do_ mean to me. And, uh, it’s that.”

“Oh,” Hermann said.

“Oh?” Newt repeated, peering at Hermann nervously. “What’s ‘oh’ mean?”

“It means…” Hermann got to his feet, using his free hand to cup the side of Newt’s face. He leaned forward and kissed him tenderly, lingering so their foreheads touched even when they parted. It wasn’t their first kiss by any means, but it felt more significant than any other they’d shared. “It means I’m falling in love with you, as well.”

Newt’s grin was so bright and sincere, it made Hermann’s heart leap in his chest. “The way a fool would do?” Newt teased.

“Madly,” Hermann agreed, grinning back. Newt laughed, and Hermann, overwhelmed with affection (and love, what had always been love), simply kissed him again.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on twitter @hermanngottiieb


End file.
